SOME PERSPECTIVES ON UPLAND SETTLEMENT PATTERNS

OF THE CENTRAL DIABLO RANGE OF CALIFORNIA

Mark G. Hylkema Environmental Analysis

California Department of Transportation P.O. Box 23660

Oakland, CA 94623-0660

ABSTRACT

Three archaeological surveys sponsored by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) in the upland regions of the central Diablo Ranges have resulted in the finding of extensive prehistoric cultural deposits. Artifacts recorded at these sites reveal that the upland valleys and drainages of the central Diablo Ranges were intensively occupied during the period defined as the Pacheco Complex by Olsen and Payen (1969). This complex spans a period of time from ca. 2600 B.C. to AD. 300. Upland settlement as viewed from the perspective of the surveys presented here indicates that Pacheco complex residential sites focused on both hard seed and acorn economies as well as the hunting oflarge mammals. These sites characteristically contain an abundance of milling tools, robust projectile points, human burials, cupule rock art, shell ornaments, and other artifact types. Artifacts representative of the Late Period (or Gonzaga and Panoche complexes) are nearly absent. It is proposed that a shift in settlement strategies occurred, with later populations relying more on resources at lower elevations, and that the Pacheco Complex continued later than AD. 300.

INTRODUCTION

In the year 1774 Fray Pedro Font, while accompanying the Anza expedition, crossed the Diablo Range and wrote:

All this country which we crossed this day and the next is very broken, and is the haunt of many bears, judg­ing from the tracks we saw. Although seen from the outside this range appears to be bare on all sides and without trees, yet in the center it is very tangled and full of brush, pines, live oaks, oaks, spruce, and other trees. [Bolton 1933:415-417]

Font's description of the Diablo Range still applies today. Despite a rather desolate appearance the interior is well watered and supports a diverse ecological system. The Diablo Range is a composite of numerous ridge systems that extend from Mt. Diablo to the north, then south approximately 140 miles to Coalinga. The eastern slopes of the

range form the rim of the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, and the western slopes parallel the Salinas River Valley. The Gabi­lan Range, which is a part of the Diablo Range formation, has been incorporated into this study as it is only marginally separated from the larger Diablo system by the San Benito River. The term "upland" as used in this study differentiates the terrains within the range from the lower foothills, which appear as low lying hills grading up from the lower valley floors. This paper is concerned primarily with the central and southern ext­ent of the Diablo Range.

The upland regions of the Diablo Range have often been perceived as a marginal area of prehistoric settlement (Kroeber 1925:476; Wallace 1978:462). This image has largely been perpetuated by a lack of ethnohistoric data and by meager archaeological investiga­tions that have typically focused on the less productive portions of the range (Le., steep slopes and ridge crests). However, upon closer examination of the terrain and natu­

Proceedill&8 ofthe Society for California Archaeology, 1993, Vol. 6, pp. 99·119. Copyright®1993 by the Society for California Archaeology.

ral resources of the region it seems likely that the area would have been, at some time, an important feature of the San Joa­quin Valley and Central Coastal Native. American subsistence economies. Fortu­nately, an opportunity to verify the potential of the area was realized when the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) requested an archaeological recon­naissance for 3 separate projects in the uplands of the Central Diablo Range (Figure 1).

These 3 archaeological surveys were conducted in 1989 as part of a CDF vegeta­tion management program, which was im­plemented to assist landowners in their ef­forts to reduce the ever-encroaching chapar­ral. The frequently dense chamise thickets promote the possibility ofwild flIes and in­hibit the growth of browse for livestock. The CDF manages the controlled burning of the thickets, and must consider the effects on cultural resources resulting from the es­tablishment of flIe roads, helicopter landing pads, water bars, and the use of heavy mechanized equipment.

The flIst survey was conducted on a 5,SOO acre cattle ranch owned by Mr. and Mrs. Otis Carney. The Carney ranch is lo­cated approximately 20 miles southeast of Pinnacles National Monument. The second survey included a ranch administered by the Andresen family ofPacheco Land and Cattle Company, consisting of nearly 6,000 acres. The Andresen ranch is located just north of Highway 152 at Pacheco Pass. The third project required a quick review of a small land parcel at the headwaters of Chalon Creek in La Gloria Valley. This area is just north of Pinnacles National Monument.

The 2 larger surveys described in this paper ultimately led to a friendship between the landowners and myself, and allowed for continued visitations to the parcels long af­ter the initial report of findings was submit­ted to CDF. Our friendship continues to this day and we will undoubtedly learn more about the region as time goes by.

In addition, Linda Hylkema, Regional Archaeologist for the Bureau of Land Man­agement's Hollister Office, administers

100

nearly a half million acres ofland in the Di­ablo Range. Her familiarity with the region and the landowners has led us to review numerous private collections from the upland region of the Central Diablo Range and accumulate information on artifact types and site distributions.

After completing the 3 surveys and sub­sequent examination of artifacts in private collections, I have reached the conclusion that the upland region of the Central Diablo Range was intensively used and occupied during the temporal period identified by Ol­sen and Payen (1969) as the Pacheco Com­plex. Further, it is my contention that the upland area of the Central Diablo Range was not a cultural crossroad (or backwater as many have assumed) but was a discrete so­do-economic region (Pacheco Complex) that eventually went through transitions that saw the uplands used less intensively in favor oflower elevation habitats (Gonzaga and Panoche Complexes).

Olsen and Payen (1969) proposed that the Pacheco Complex dated to approximate­ < ly 4,600 to 1,600 years RP. The complex, 1divided into 2 components (Pacheco A and Pacheco B), was proposed on the basis of variations in artifact types observed from the excavation ofa number of sites along the low-lying eastern foothills of the Diablo Range. The artifact assemblage includes large notched and stemmed points and knives, both hard seed and acorn milling equipment, perforated stone disks and pendants, Olivella sp. split-punched beads, and frequent assodation of the above with human burials and cupule rock art.

Researchers have postulated that pre­historic ethnolinguistic group migrations and population expansions account for the stylistic diversity in the artifact assemblag­es. It has been proposed that the Diablo Range was a sort of hump that groups tra­versed over and settled around (Kroeber 1925:478). Linguists and ethnographers have reasoned that the Diablo Range be­came a divisive topographic feature separat­ing similar, yet individually distinct cultural interaction spheres. o..

Archaeologists have postulated that ob­

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served variations in artifact types and asso­ciations represent changing socio-political relationships. It has been proposed that the Pacheco Complex expresses an intrusion of coastal populations from the Monterey Bay area (Mikkelsen and Hildebrandt 1990; Ol­sen and Payen 1969).

Given this scenario perhaps the most in­triguing questions are: What is the antiquity of upland Diablo Range settlement? At what time and for what reasons was settlement of the upland areas abandoned in favor of the lowlands? In more recent times, did the uplands continue to be important enough for resource extraction but not to the extent that they supported sedentary settlement during the Late Period? What social and/or environmental factors could account for a proposed shift in settlement? Certainly these questions and others will be addressed in time. For now, I will focus on establishing the fact that during the period defmed as the Pacheco Complex the uplands were in­tensively occupied by semi-sedentary groups who have left. an artifact assemblage very similar to that found within coastal contexts of the time and identical to fmds made along the eastern Diablo foothills near San Luis Reservoir.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT

During the 1960s and 1970s, several large water projects involving the construc­tion of reservoirs along the eastern foothills of the Diablo Range resulted in a series of archaeological investigations (Nissley 1975; Olsen 1972; Olsen and Payen 1968, 1969; Pritchard 1966, 1968, 1970, 1983). Of these pioneering studies the work at San Luis res­ervoir and Little Panoche Valley (Olsen and Payen 1968,1969) made the most progress towards establishing temporal sequences based on observed trends in the artifact as­semblages. Olsen and Payen's hypothetical sequences still serve as the foundation for comparative research for projects through­out the Diablo Range, the western San Joa­quin Valley, and portions of the Monterey Bay area (Breschini et al. 1983; Mikkelsen and Hildebrandt 1990; Hildebrandt and Mikkelsen 1991; Hylkema 1989a, 1991; Werner 1984).

102

The chronological sequences developed by Olsen and Payen (1969) and Olsen (1972) consist of 4 archaeological complexes. The earliest is the Positas Complex, followed by the Pacheco, Gonzaga, and Panoche com­plexes.

The Positas Complex is proposed to have spanned from approximately 5,200 to 4,600 years B.P., and is represented by the basal component at MER-94. This component in­cludes perforated flat cobbles ("doughnut stones"), perforated pebble pendants, milling slabs, handstones, mortars, short pestles, flake scrapers, small scrapper planes, and spire-lopped Olivella sp. beads. It was pro­posed that the assemblage resembled south coastal traditions rather than a San Joaquin Valley assemblage. Olsen and Payen (1969:41) noted that the Positas Complex was only vaguely defined.

The Pacheco Complex was best repre­sented in the assemblage recovered from MER-94 and is divided into 2 phases (Pache­co A and Pacheco B), ranging from 4,600 to 1,600 years B.P. Olsen and Payen noted that the older Pacheco B was tentatively identified by shell artifact types and large leaf shaped points. The shell artifacts con­sist ofthick rectangular Olivella sp. beads and angular Haliotis sp. pendants. Mikkel­sen and Hildebrandt (1990:12) comment that these are all known early period indica­tors, which implies that the Pacheco B Complex may be older than presumed. The Pacheco A Complex, best represented at MER-94, has also been identified somewhat at MER-27 (Nissley 1975).

The Pacheco A Complex, estimated to date between 3,600 and 1,600 B.P., con­tained a greater range of attributes. At MER-94 these attributes included flexed bu­rials with associated Olivella sp. spire­ground, modified saddle, saucer, and split­drilled beads, and clam shell disk beads. In addition, jade and slate rings, flat pebble pendants, mortars, short cylindrical pestles, milling slabs, handstones, and a variety of large projectile points were present. Bone artifacts included bird bone whistles, awls, perforated canine teeth, spatula grass cut­ters, and other spatulate tools. Olsen and Payen belieJled that several earthen

features, approximately 10 to 12 feet in di­ameter and semi-circular in shape, repre­sented house floors.

The similarity of projectile point forms from MER-94 and those found in the Mon­terey Bay area (large notched and stemmed points) and lack ofextended burials, led Ol­sen and Payen (1969) to propose that coastal people had intruded into the western San Joaquin Valley during the Pacheco A Com­plex times. Coeval sites of the Central Val­ley generally exhibit a pattern of extended burials.

The subsequent Gonzaga Complex dat­ing from 1,600 to 1,000 B.P. is represented at sites MER-3, MER-14, and sparsely at MER-94, MER-56, and MER-27. A greater emphasis on bead use is noted in association with extended burials. Olivella sp. bead types included spire-ground, thin rectangles, split-punched, oval, and other subtypes. Ha­liotis sp. pendants were typically rounded, projectile points were few, and polished stone ornaments were present as were a var­iety ofbone artifacts such as scapula saws, whistles, awls, etc. Milling stones continued to include slabs and handstones, but larger mortars are noted along with longer shaped cylindrical pestles. House sizes were seen as increasing, ranging from 20 to 30 feet in di­ameter.

The Panoche Complex represented the protohistoric period (200 to 400 B.P.), and was identified at numerous sites in the western San Joaquin Valley/Diablo Range foothills. These sites included FRE-128, FRE-129, MER-3, MER-94, MER-130, and MER-1l9. The Panoche Complex contained diagnostic artifact types such as clamshell disk beads, Olivella sp. lipped, edge-ground, and rough disk beads, steatite disk beads, steatite ear spools, conical pipes, incised bird bone whistles, and a wide variety of other bone tool types. Projectile points were of the desert side-notched type with a local variant, Panoche side-notched, character­ized by steep-sided triangular forms having nearly circular notch openings and a slightly concave base. Mortars and pestles dominat­ed over milling slabs and handstones. Struc­tures included large semi-subterranean cir­cular assembly houses and smaller circular

houses that were typically 30 to 50 feet in diameter. Cremation of flexed burials was a common feature.

Hildebrandt and Mikkelsen (1991:32-33) summarize the above cultural patterns as follows:

...each major temporal period seemed to reflect occupations by different populations with divergent cultural/ geographic affinities. The Positas Complex, although poorly represent­ed, showed relationships to the south coast while the Pacheco Complex was thought to possibly represent intru­sion of peoples from the Monterey Bay area. Most conspicuous of all was the Gonzaga Complex with its extended burials similar to the delta, followed by the protohistoric Panoche Complex, no doubt representing the ethnographically recorded Yokuts.

Recently, research conducted along the coast of San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Mon­terey counties has generated dated artifact assemblages with which Diablo Range as­semblages can be compared (Dietz et al. 1988; Jones et al. 1989; Jones and Hylkema 1988; Hylkema 1991). Point types described in the following sections will be identified according to terminology developed from these studies. Table 1 presents measure­ments of selected points from the surveys described below.

RESULTS FROM THE SURVEYS

This section describes the surveyed par­cels and findings made within them. Survey reports were prepared and submitted to CDF with copies forwarded to the California Archaeological Inventory Northwest Re­gional Information Center at Sonoma State University (Hylkema 1989a, 1989b, 1989c).

The first survey was conducted on the 5,800 acre Carney ranch which is located northwest of Hernandez Reservoir and east of Route 25 near the headwaters of the San Benito River. The ranch headquarters is situated in a wide, oak tree-covered upland valley at the junction of several streams. Of

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Tab1e 1 ATTRIBUTES OF PACHECO COMPLEX POINTS FROM

DIABLO RANGE SITES

Fig. Site Cat. ML MW MT NW BW SL DSA PSA WT. 2A SCL-680 SC­ 109.6+ 59.5 10.0 26.5 22.5 13.4 180/178 85/92 61. 5 3A SBN-C-271 LVW-B 68.1+ 33.7 9.8 14.2 3.5+ 183/182 88/87 22.3 3B SBN-156 SC-A 111. 0+ 34.0 13.0 24.0 12.2+ 220/145 85/70 51.0 3C SBN-13 LVE-A 54.5+ 40.0+ 13.7 22.1 160/ 26.8 4A SBN-13 LVE-B 37.5+ 14.4+ 8.5 9.1+ 17.4+ 182/ 88/ 3.6 4B SBN-156 SC-J 50.0 33.0 9.5 22.0 19.0 173/173 80/80 11.3 4C SBN-C-271 LVW-F 57.8+ 31.7 9.0 17.8 15.3 163/163 93/93 14.1 4D SBN-C-271 LVW-A 48.2+ 26.7 9.8 10.4 14.3 180/155 79/77 10.6 4E SBN-C-271 LVW-C 34.7+ 38.0 10.0 21.0 16.1+ 180/180 84/82 10.8 4F SBN-156 SC-S 43.0+ 30.0 9.0 14.0 14.0+ /154 82/82 9.6 4G SBN-C-271 LVW-D 48.5 39.0 9.5 16.4 14.3 180/165 75/75 13.5 4H SBN-C-271 LVW-E 30.7+ 25.3 8.0 11.4 6.8+ 165/185 85/88 4.9 5A SBN-13 LVE-D 78.2 35.0 18.9 28.0 36.7 255/255 80/80 44.9 5B SBN-156 SC-F 34.0+ 20.5+ 9.0 13.5 17.5 240/245 80/80 6.1 5C SBN-13 LVE-E 39.0+ 28.9+ 7.5 22.0 21.8 245/246 5.7 5D SBN-156 SC-I 47.5+ 31.5 10.0 19.0 13.0+ 250/250 65/65 13.3 5E SBN-156 SC-N 41.0+ 31.5 11.0 23.0 24.4 200/203 75/75 11.2 6A SBN-156 SC-C 41.0+ 54.0+ 13.5 30.6 6B SBN-156 SC-D 86.5 39.0 13.5 48.4 6C SBN-156 SC-B 22.0+ 20.5 8.5 12.5 18.0 14.5 180/185 130/130 3.4 6D SBN-156 SC-E 51.5 30.0 11.0 17.0 22.0 18.2 183/187 102/102 12.7 6E SBN-156 SC-K 20.0+ 24.0+ 10.0 16.0 20.0+ 11.0+ 218/220 98/98 4.7 7A SBN-156 SC-Q 57.0+ 43.5 11.0 19.0 22.0 18.0 145/145 110/110 22.2 7B FRE-1345 SC-A 35.0+ 34.6 11.7 19.4 23.2 21.3 215/210 110/110 11.9 7C SBN-183 SC-A 34.0 24.5 6.5 14.0 12.5 13.0 178/175 90/90 7D SBN-13 LVE-C 28.0+ 31.6 10.4 20.0 18.3 12.6 18.3 7E SBN-156 SC-M 53.0+ 33.0 10.0 18.0 15.5 17.0 14.2 7F SBN-156 SC-P 23.0+ 25.5 11.0 16.0 15.0 12.0 5.7

Measurements in mm.; Weight in grams; PSA and DSA in degrees; += Incomplete Measurement; ML= Max. Length; MW= Max. Width; MT= Max. Thickness; NW= Neck Width; BW= Basal Width; SL= Stem Length; DSA= Distal Shoulder Angle; PSA= Proximal Shoulder Angle.

104

these streams James Creek is the largest. Elevations range from 4,000 feet at Rock Spring Peak to 1,700 feet along the San Be­nito River flood plain. The historic build­ings of the ranch headquarters were estab­lished on a low knoll that is covered by an extensive Franciscan chert debitage scatter. The landowner pointed out several bowl mortars and handstones that came from this site (SBN-155), and mentioned that nu­merous human burials were present. This site was not examined further aft.er complet­ing the survey records because the goal of the survey was to investigate areas selected for vegetation management.

While surveying stream terraces within an upland canyon above the ranch head­quarters a second site was found. This site, SBN-156, exhibited an extensive scatter of good quality Franciscan chert debitage, nu­merous thermally affected cobbles, and many large projectile points and biface tools (some ofwhich are illustrated in Figures 3A, 4B, 4F, 5B, 5D-5E, 6A-6E, 7A, and 7E-7F). The soil was composed of dark ash, and many bone fragments were observed around the ever present rodent burrows. Typically, bone preservation of any kind is unusual be­cause of the noticeably acidic soils compos­ing the slopes and ridges of the area. A sin­gle well-polished jade ornament was found (Figure 8B) as well as a small cylindrically shaped pestle.

Several months later Linda Hylkema and I returned to SBN-156 at the request of the landowners. They were interested in learn­ing more about the local prehistory and emphasized that they and other local ranch­ers would likely take greater care to protect their archaeological sites once they under­stood them better. Evidently many of the ranchers had been collecting artifacts from their sites for years and never considered their research potential and the need to pro­tect them. Several ranchers offered to show us their collections in the hope oflearning more about them. We accepted the offer and on one occasion observed several hundred projectile points from the local upland valleys. Without exception, the points we saw were identical to those found at SBN-156, and those reported by Olsen and Payen (1969) from MER-94. These con­

105

sisted of large expanding-stemmed, Rossi square-stemmed, Ano Nuevo long-stemmed, large barbed contracting-stemmed, and wide side-notched convex base points. Perhaps even more intriguing was the total lack of Late Period artifact types and obsidian points.

Shortly aft.er this discovery the second of the 3 surveys took place. This one was lo­cated at La Gloria Valley, to the northwest of the Carney Ranch just above Pinnacles National Monument. Once again the setting was in an upland habitat, and the average elevation of the valley is 1,900 feet with sur­rounding ridges rising higher. Chalon Creek originates from this bowl shaped val­ley, which is a generally level, oak covered grassland that changes abruptly to chaparral at the very toe of the surrounding slopes. The southeastern edge of the valley narrows to a steep stream canyon that descends to­wards the Pinnacles. At the point where the stream leaves the valley through the canyon an outcrop of serpentine boulders was found exhibiting numerous bedrock mortar holes (SBN-182). A single BRM (SBN-184) was found a little below this. Neither of these 2 sites revealed any diagnostic artifact types; however, a third site did (SBN-183). SBN­183 is a low hump on an otherwise level plain and is shaded by a couple ofmature oak trees. Three low lying serpentine boulders on the site exhibit several deep mortar holes along with numerous cupule depressions. The small knoll itself is cov­ered by an extensive scatter of Franciscan chert debitage, and the soil is very ashy. A single well made Rossi square-stemmed point was found adjacent to the BRM bould­ers (Figure 7C). This point was identical to those found at the Carney ranch and at oth­er Monterey Bay area sites.

The fInal of the 3 surveys was conducted at the Andresen Ranch along the North Fork ofPacheco Creek in southeastern San­ta Clara County. Eight archaeological sites were identilled, all ofwhich were known to the landowner who actually deserves credit for pointing them out. The landowner is greatly inclined towards the preservation of these sites and is investigating methods to stabilize and protect them from cattle dis­turbance and natural erosion. He has been

collecting many of the pestles and handstones from these sites and caching them near their original positions to prevent their theft by hunters who frequent the property. All of these sites were clustered along the creek within a distance of less than 2 miles. These sites include SCL-679, -680, -682, -683, -684, -685, -686, and SCL­687. North Fork Pacheco Creek is fed by numerous springs that originate along the steep slopes and ridges that rise above the stream, creating a canyon that broadens and narrows at points. Oak woodland vegetation is well developed and a wide variety ofwild­life was observed where the stream terrace and canyon bottoms broaden. Elevations of the stream terraces within the project area average 600 feet while adjacent ridges rise up to 1,200 feet.

The most striking features of the sites found at the Andresen ranch are the diversi­ty ofartifact types and the similarity of the sites to each other. Many of the sites con­tain human burials as evidenced by the number ofbones that the prolific ground squirrel population brings to the surface. Both adult and juvenile human bone ele­ments were noted. All of the sites exhibit extensive scatters ofFranciscan chert debit­age, cores, flake tools, biface fragments, pla­no-convex scrapers, drills, and occasional projectile points. The projectile points were probably more abundant than we could see, and I suspect that many of them have been collected from the surface over the years. In addition to these, several sites contained Olivella sp. split-punched beads, short and long cylindrically shaped pestles co-occur­ring with milling slabs and handstones, and cupule rock art distributed on serpentine boulders throughout the stream bed bet­ween the sites. There were so many cupule boulders that we were only able to record a few. Many of the boulders had mortar holes on them along with the cupules. Many of the cupule depressions covered both hori­zontal and vertical surfaces of the boulders and were covered by lichens and moss.

Site SCL-682 produced a perforated slate ring (Figure SA) that was identical to types found at MER-94.

SCL-6BO, situated at the confluence ofa

106

small stream and North Fork Pacheco Creek, exhibited a large raised mound of dark ashy soil with an extensive scatter of thermally affected cobbles. The landowner has found several small mortars here that, according to his descriptions, must be either tobacco or paint mortars. A large, cylindrical sandstone cobble was found that exhibited 3 grooved rings at intervals around its circum­ference (Figure 9). This artifact may be similar to the girdled cobbles described by Olsen and Payen (1969) for MER-94. Other artifacts include the same range of flaked stone debris and implements noted at the other sites. Several BRMs, a bi-pitted spher­ically shaped cobble, and perhaps most in­triguing ofall, a very large obsidian blade were found. The obsidian blade exhibited a square stem, was very thin in cross section, and had a pattern of long, diagonal flake scars (ribbon flaking) that covered the entire length and width of this wide specimen (Figure 2). This piece was sourced and found to have come from the eastern Sierra Nevada Range (Casa Diablo), and obsidian hydration analyses provided a mean hydra­tion rim reading of 6.7 microns. The mound itself, which is approximately 3 feet above the surrounding terrace, may have devel­oped around a large semi-subterranean structure similar to those described by Ol­sen and Payen (1969) for the Pacheco Com­plex at MER-94. Any structural depression that might have once been visible is now filled in, which is not surprising given its po­tential age and the extensive livestock trampling.

SCL-679 was the largest of the 8 sites. It covered a broad alluvial terrace along the creek with numerous serpentine boulders extending from the site into the stream bed, and across the creek to the opposite side. Many of these boulders exhibited cupule rock art and mortars. The terrace above the stream was covered by flaked stone tools and debris, but no diagnostic point types were found. There were a very large number of milling slabs, handstones and pestles at this site. Bone preservation was good consider­ing the many fragments seen scattered ar­ound the rodent burrows.

Further up the stream SCL-683 is situated on a narrow peninsula separating a

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small drainage and North Fork Pacheco Creek. The site was elevated above the streams and may have been left at this height after the streams cut their channels deeply around it. Several human bone ele­ments were observed eroding out of the slope of the site and numerous Olivella sp. split-punched beads were seen here as well. Halfof a large bowl mortar was found and there was a low serpentine boulder with several mortar holes on it. A small leaf­shaped point preform was found and mayac­tually have been a cutting tool instead of a projectile point.

The other remaining sites did not pro­duce any surface diagnostic artifact types but shared the pattern ofFranciscan chert debitage scatters, cupule rock art, and BRMs.

Overall, the 8 sites described for this survey appear to reflect related occupations and, given t.he diversity ofartifact types, the presence of human remains, and cupule rock art, resemble semi-sedentary habita­tions. It should also be mentioned that I have reviewed sites farther up North Fork Pacheco Creek in Henry Coe State Park and observed a continuation of the pattern seen at the Andresen Ranch. Parkman (1986) briefly discussed these sites in an article on cupule rock art.

In addition to the investigations con­ducted by myself, another large ranch was surveyed just south of the Carney ranch (Werner 1984). A survey was conducted of portions of the 25,000 acre John Eade ranch. The survey covered approximately 150 acres and was centered around Laguna Valley which is in the vicinity ofHernandez Reser­voir. The average elevation of Laguna Val­ley ranges from 3,600 to 4,000 feet. A total of 8 sites was recorded, some of which had been identified years earlier. Of these sites, 2 were noted as exhibiting very large well developed middens (SBN·13, Laguna Valley East and SBN-C-271, Laguna Valley West). Numerous flaked stone artifacts were col­lected from the surface of these sites and described in the report. The report also mentions that artifact collectors have been looting these sites for many years. Quite a number of the flaked stone artifacts collect­

ed from these sites were loaned to the Bu­reau of Land Management for their review and I have measured and illustrated the di­agnostic points from the collection (cf. Table 1, and Figures 3A, 3C, 4A, 4C-4E, 4G-4H, 5A, 5C, and 7D). These sites produced a large number of heavy biface tools, many ofwhich may be pre-forms for large projectile points. All of these are made of Franciscan chert with one exception being a long rounded bi­face made of basalt. Several of these bifacial knapped cobbles appear to have crushed edges indicating that they may have been used as hand axes or choppers. Most of the other sites consisted of BRMs and lithic scatters.

PACHECO COMPLEX CHRONOLOGY

Olsen and Payen (1969:41) have com­mented that the Pacheco Complex was de­fined only on the basis of typological rela­tionships. Since that time research along the Central California coast has provided dated assemblages with which to compare and refme Olsen and Payen's temporal scheme. Diagnostic artifact types used as temporal markers consist primarily of pro­jectile points and shell beads.

Comparative analysis of recently dated coastal assemblages shows that Olsen and Payen's chronological placement of the Pacheco Complex is generally correct. How­ever, it appears that the complex may have originated earlier and continued later in time than has been proposed. Further, it is possible that the earlier Positas Complex may represent the same socio-economic sys­tem as the Pacheco Complex with minor variations in artifact forms. Further defmi­tion must await better radiocarbon dated as­semblages.

As discussed earlier, many of the point types recovered from the Diablo Range are similar to coastal point forms. As yet only 2 distinctive point forms have been typed for the Monterey Bay area and given temporal meaning. These 2 include the Ai'io Nuevo Long-stemmed and Rossi Square-stemmed (Jones and Hylkema 1988).

The Ai'io Nuevo Long-stemmed type is

115

characterized by a long tapering stem with the maximum width position greater than 45% of the maximum length, from the end of the base to the tip. Most extend more than 50 mm. in length. Bases are either convex or pointed. This point type was fJ.rSt noted by Gerow (1968), and several were found in direct association with a human bu­rial in San Mateo County (SMA-77). Char­coal from the burial produced a radiocarbon date of 2,950 ± 350 B.P. Many additional specimens have been generated from other coastal sites. They are prevalent in com­ponents dated to between 2,800 and 1,000 B.P., are often found in components dated between 4,000 to 2,800 B.P., and are within the time frame of the Pacheco Complex. This point type has a wide distribution throughout Central California coastal sites (Hylkema 1991:94). ADo Nuevo Long­stemmed points have been found in the uplands of the Diablo Range (see Figures 4A-4E). Extensive reworking of the blade is common; therefore, the length measure­ments of these points show considerable var­iation.

The Rossi Square-stemmed point type is typically large, with an excurvate to triangu­lar shaped blade and a short stem which is square or slightly expanding. Bases are usu­ally flat although some have rounded, partly convex shapes. As with the ADo Nuevo Long-stemmed type, extensive reworking of the blade is not unusual which creates a range of lengths. This type often occurs with the Afio Nuevo Long-stemmed type. These points have been found in direct asso­ciation with human burials at several sites on the Monterey peninsula with dates rang­ing from 3,270 ± 90 to 4,080 ± 100 B.P., and fall within Pacheco Complex times. The Rossi Square-stemmed type is very common to the Diablo Range and several have been illustrated (see Figures 6C-6F).

The barbed contracting-stemmed points found in the Diablo Range are very common to south coastal archaeological sites and ex­tend as far north as San Mateo County, but in smaller numbers (Hylkema 1991:97). Chronological relationships of this point form still need further definition; however, they do co-occur with the ADo Nuevo Long­stemmed and Rossi Square-stemmed types

116

and must be contemporaneous. This point form ranges in size as do the previously de­scribed types but, with minor variations, ap­pears to be the dominant point type of the Diablo Range. This type grades into the form described as Little Pico Creek points which are common to coastal sites from Monterey Bay southwards to the Santa Bar­bara Channel (Jones et al. 1989). Barbed contracting-stemmed forms appear to be co­eval with the Pacheco Complex, and several have been illustrated for this paper (see Figures M-3C and 4A-4H).

The large expanding-stemmed and wide side-notched forms are more difficult to assign to any given temporal period. Non­etheless, they are not known to occur at dated coastal sites that are more recent than 1,000 years B.P., and their association with better dated point types and forms within the Diablo Range places them within the Pacheco Complex. Two expanding-stemmed points are illustrated in Figures 7 A and 7B, while 3 specimens of the wide side-notched form are illustrated in Figures 6C-6E.

Several large leaf shaped chert points were described by Olsen and Payen (1969), and these types were found at MER-94. These were assigned to the earlier Pacheco B Complex but have been found in the uplands in association with other points dat­ed to the Pacheco A Complex. I feel that this form is part of the overall Pacheco Complex and I recognize Mikkelsen and Hildebrandt's (1990:12) comment that they are known Early Period indicators in the Central Valley. These large points have also been found at many sites within the Mon­terey Bay area and central coast in potential­ly early contexts (Jones et al. 1989). One of these has been illustrated for this paper (see Figure 6B).

The single large obsidian blade found at SCL-680, from the Casa Diablo obsidian source, yielded a hydration rim reading of 6.7 microns. Researchers in the Monterey Bay area have tentatively correlated obsi­dian readings to calendrical dates, taking into account several influencing variables such as moisture and temperature (Dietz et al. 1988). Given the proposed range ofread­ings and dates, a 6.7 micron rim reading

from Casa Diablo obsidian corresponds to a date ofapproximately 4,200 years, and is thus within the Pacheco Complex temporal framework. The diagonal ribbon flaking which covered both opposing blade surfaces is a well-known trait associated with Early Period assemblages of the Central Valley.

Many of the Olivella sp. bead types de­scribed by Olsen and Payen (1969) have been reevaluated since that time and the ex­isting typological system and temporal set­tings for them (Gifford 1947) have been re­vised by Bennyhoff and Hughes (1987). Mikkelsen and Hildebrandt (1990:24) ad­dressed this situation and noted that, given a more recent understanding of the bead types, the Pacheco Complex may continue later in time to approximately 1,000 years B.P. Olivella sp. beads attributed to the Pacheco Complex include types L, F3a/F3b, C2, and G2 Bennyhoffand Hughes (1987).

If the Pacheco Complex does indeed con­tinue as late as 1,000 B.P. then it parallels chronological observations for the Monterey Bay area (Jones and Hylkema 1988; Hylke­ma 1991).

DISCUSSION

As mentioned earlier, artifact assem­blages observed during the surveys and those observed in private collections cor­relate to Olsen and Payen's (1969) proposed Pacheco Complex. They placed this com­plex in a temporal setting that ranges from 4,600 to 1,600 B.P. and hypothesized that there was a great deal of similarity with sites from around the Monterey Bay area. This concept was primarily based upon the pro­jectile point forms found at MER-94.

While it is clear that projectile points de­scribed in this paper are noted for coastal sites from San Luis Obispo County north to San Mateo County, it is also clear that in­terior Diablo Range sites frequently reflect the same terrestrial hunting technology. It may well be that the coast and Diablo Range were part of the same socio-economic sys­tem, and there was nothing intrusive about the coastal people. Further, it isjust as like­ly that the interior Diablo Range people de­

117

veloped their economy earlier in time and it spread towards the coast.

The large Rossi square-stemmed, ex­panding-stemmed, barbed contracting­stemmed, Afio Nuevo long-stemmed, and large side-notched points are too big to have functioned as dart tips. Their typically thick, wide necks and stems imply a hafting method that utilized heavy poles for shafts. The only game large enough to warrant such heavy hunting tools were elk and bear. The smaller notched points (not to be confused with Panoche side-notched) and some of the smaller barbed contracting stemmed points were probably dart tips for throwing spears, or atlatls. These may have been used to hunt game smaller than elk and bear, possi­bly deer and antelope.

The co-occurrence of hard seed milling tools along with acorn processing tools ob­served in the upland sites corresponds with findings regarding economic pursuits de­scribed at coastal sites (Hylkema 1991). The frequency of milling tools in the upland Dia­blo Range sites suggests an intensive eco­nomic focus on acorns during Pacheco Com­plex times. The association ofa well devel­oped hunting technology along with inten­sive acorn processing presents an interest­ing relationship that may reflect a pattern of seasonal elk migration to the uplands at a time coinciding with the ripening of acorns. Elk herds, dispersed among the tule marsh­es of the San Joaquin Valley and Salinas River Valley, likely congregated seasonally in the uplands to browse on shoots and forbs available around the springs, streams, and occasional upland marshes. During the fall when acorns cover the ground below the oak trees both elk and people probably con­verged. No doubt the elk were also after the acorns and the numerous canyon bottoms provided excellent passages for prehistoric game drives. This pattern of seasonal elk migration and human exploitation was prob­ably repeated all over the coast ranges and accounts for the similarities between the coastal assemblages and the Diablo Range assemblages during Pacheco Complex times.

In order to confirm the above proposi­tions future investigations of the area should try to isolate single component as­

semblages, generate radiocarbon dates, and conduct thorough analysis of recovered faunal remains. I predict that the Pacheco Complex may be older than Olsen and Pay­en thought and the Positas Complex mayac­tually be part of the same pattern seen in the Pacheco Complex.

Contrary to the belief that the uplands were desolate and lacked well developed prehistoric settlement sites, the presence of numerous human burials and the wide di­versity ofartifact types indicates that the uplands were intensively settled during Pacheco Complex times. The socio­economic focus of settlement within the uplands developed around big game hunting and the processing of storable vegetal foods. The limited number of late period sites re­flects a less intensive reliance upon the uplands during the succeeding Gonzaga and Panoche Complex times.

Ironically, it is likely that there were more people living in the uplands of the Di­ablo Range thousands ofyears ago than there are today in modem times.

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